Days. They had days left. Every peak, rock, and crevice reminded him of that inevitable end.
But Brela had told him she wanted to forget it was ending. He didn’t complain.
They rode next to each other, took the same watches, and slept pressed together. Any moment they could be touching, they were. Savoring the last moments together, pretending that their perfect world still existed.
Elias and Farrah didn’t seem to mind sharing Brela. That didn’t stop them from teasing her relentlessly. Teasinghim,too.
Serill, though…
Something had changed in his friend. This trip had affected all of them in different ways, but that lightness surrounding the prince had faded. He was quiet, solemn. Though he stood taller and more confident than Cason had ever seen—which was saying something, since the prince was foolishly unafraid of anything—the spark that always seemed lit behind Serill’s eyes was dim.
Only Farrah seemed to bring it back, asking him more questions about the moon temple, his life in Severina being the oldest of four, and demanding to know how he survived being surrounded by suchuptightcaptains. That last one had been asked with a pointed look at Cason.
“You know,” Serill began before Cason could snarl, “most would consider that glare of his a positive thing for a prince’s captain. It frightens people.”
Brela shrugged and chucked a rock off the cliff’s edge. “It’s notthatfrightening.”
“Standing right here,” Cason grumbled, but Farrah spoke over him.
“Says the woman who isn’t afraid of a vaarasuxa.”
“Or a celvusa,” Serill added. “Are you afraid of anything?”
“Who said I wasn’t afraid of those things?” Brela asked, carelessly prancing along the edge of the cliff. “Maybe I just don’t give them the satisfaction of seeing my fear.”
Elias, walking between his horse and brushing his shoulder against the stone mountainside, hissed as Brela spun on her toes. “Could you maybe be a little more afraid of this deadly cliff and stop dancing along the edge?”
Brela sighed, and to Cason’s surprise, actually listened. “Poor El. He’s been dreading this part of the trip.”
Well, now Elias’s behaviors made a lot more sense. His pale skin, his desire to put as much room between him and the hundred-foot drop to his left, and his constant flinching whenever Brela kicked a rock or twirled too close to the edge.
Cason narrowed his senses on the man, picking up on the sweat, trembling, and racing heartbeat.
“You’re afraid of heights?” he asked.
Elias only pressed further into the stone as he continued to walk, keeping his head focused forward. “Not at all, just afraid of falling, being trapped in terror for however long of a drop, then splattering my insides on the ground if I’m lucky enough to die. I like my guts where they are, thank you very much.”
“Well, when you put it like that,” Serill mumbled, taking another step away from the edge.
Brela sighed and waved a dismissive hand from the front. “Not to worry, Prince. A fall from this height would certainly result in instantaneous death upon impact.”
“That’s not helpful,” Elias hissed.
She only shrugged and continued to walk backwards as she addressed Serill. “To answer your question from earlier, of course I have fears. I mean, you literally watched me stop breathing in that tunnel. But once my enemies know them, they have tools to use against me.”
Cason knew what she meant. Her friends. Hellthorn. Her identity. She’d given up secrets about herself and Night Carver before the Wraturo, all to save her friends because she knew they could be used against her.
Brela turned back around and chucked another rock. “I made that mistake once. I will not make it again.”
Farrah and Elias exchanged a knowing glance before the water wielder—voice barely audible—whispered, “You didn’t have much of a choice with Ovir.”
Cason gripped his fist. “I would very much like to shove my fire down Ovir’s throat.”
Brela’s composure faltered immediately as she froze. Every muscle and bone in her body went stiff, and Cason could have sworn a cold breeze escaped her skin.
Without a word, Brela lifted herself onto her mount and trotted ahead until she disappeared behind a curve.
“Shit,” Farrah said with a grimace.
